1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to an apparatus and method for a network connection that connects on-demand.
2. Background of the Invention
Telecommuting, e-commuting, e-work, telework, working at home (WAH), or working from home (WFH) is a work arrangement in which employees enjoy flexibility in working location and hours. In other words, the daily commute to a central place of work is replaced by telecommunication links. Many work from home, while others, occasionally also referred to as nomad workers or web commuters utilize mobile telecommunications technology to work from coffee shops or myriad other locations.
Telecommuting is facilitated by tools such as virtual private networks, videoconferencing, Voice over IP, or the like, all of which require some type of network connection including the Internet. Telecommuting may be efficient and useful for companies as telecommuting allows staff and workers to communicate over a large distance, saving significant amounts of travel time and cost. As broadband network connections become more commonplace, more and more workers have enough bandwidth at home to use these tools to link their home office to their corporate intranet and internal phone networks.
However, in some circumstances, telecommuting implies the need to connect to the company Intranet, or to the Internet, just to be available to the colleagues on the chat. Currently, even for discontinuous usage of the network, a remote worker must be permanently connected via the network connection and consequently pay for the flat connection. Additionally, the capability for the remote worker to be reached on the phone depends on whether the contacting party knows the remote worker's contact information other than an office number, such as home phone numbers, cellular phone numbers, or the like.
Thus, working remotely provides negative effects through unnecessary costs and bandwidth waste, or, in case the network connection is not guaranteed, an employee limited availability.